Frequently Asked Questions

A transit desert is an area where there is relatively high demand for transportation but a relatively low supply
of transportation.

What is transit oases?

A transit oasis is an area where there is a relatively high supply demand for transportation but a relatively
low demand.

How is transportation supply calculated?

Transportation supply is calculated at the block group level using important transit metrics such as:

Street Length

Sidewalk Length

Transit Route Length

Number of Transit Stops

Number of Street Intersections

Bike Lane Length

Total Trips Per Day Per Transit Stop

Average Trips Per Day Per Transit Stop

How is transportation demand calculated?

Transportation demand is measured by calculating the number of transit dependent persons (such as those
without cars, those who are too young or too old, or physically unable to drive) in each block group.

What transit services are included in the analysis?

The exact transportation services used varies by city. Every effort is made is made to include every
service for which data is publicly available.

Where is the data sourced from?

Data for the demand calculation is sourced from the US Census Bureau. Transportation supply data
is mainly sourced from local municipalities, GTFS feed aggregator websites, and OpenStreet Map.

Public transportation in my neighborhood is poor, but the area is not labeled a transit desert. Why?

This is most likely due to one of two things. First, this transit desert calculation method does
not measure absolute transit supply. This method measures relative supply, per city, versus relative
demand per city. If the demand is low compared to the supply the area will not be labeled a transit
desert. Second, this method takes a holistic look at transportation and public transportation
is not the only thing considered.

Why is my city not included in this map?

At this time calculations are limited to the 52 cities presented here. More cities and areas
of the country will be added in the future.

Can you do a custom study of my city or neighborhood?

Due to the volume of requests it is not possible for us to do custom studies at the moment.

Where can I leave my feedback?

You can email us directly by clicking on the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page.
Please note that due to the volume of requests it is not possible for us to responded to
every email individually, but they are valued. Additionally, a crowdsourcing feature is
being developed so that everyone can vote on their neighborhood’s Transit Desert status.

What is the crowdsourcing function and why should I use the crowdsourcing function?

As aforementioned, we will add a crowdsourced function to the website and collect people’s
feedbacks. We will consider the crowdsourcing results and do further investigation.